Siblings
Sitting in the corner of the living room I stationed myself in a corner where no one would find me. I was starting to hate the atmosphere around me and the only place I knew I could go was behind the couch with a ton of pillows and books under a thick soft blanket. I only came here on special occasions like when I was sad, lonely or like sometimes when I gotta sleepy it was naturally the perfect place to go. My fifth birthday was coming up and I was going into kindergarten and no one seemed to care. Dad was always at work at the factory and mom was tending to my younger siblings especially one of them: Sheer, Sheer Viola. Sheer was 9 months old and my mom wouldn’t stop obsessing over her trying to teach her how to walk and say words and stuff...I thought she was stupid. She was almost already almost a year old and she hadn’t even said her first word and all she could do was crawl around. Pulling a book closer to my face I could see through the blanket at the afternoon light shining through the screen doors behind me. Before I could start looking through the pictures of the book a raspberry voice came from behind the blanket as did a few jumbled sounds. I felt a tiny hand reach the blanket and grope for me. I groaned. “Sheer go I don’t want your drooly face in here” I heard a rouse of laughter come from my infant sister as she ripped the blanket off of me and started crawling away with it. “SHEER” I growled jumping up after her crawling up the couch to follow in hot pursuit. But suddenly I ran into my mom who I didn’t even notice was standing there. “Foolscap honey there you are” She said straightening back my blue hair. “I’ve been looking all over for you.” “You have” a little hope rising In my voice My mom hadn’t been able to be with me that much taking care of sheer and my three year old twin sisters. “Yes I need you to take gigantia outside so she can get a little exercise” she confirmed. My face fell and I looked down “Oh okay” and I started to look for gigantia. Gigantia was our Siamese cat who was not exactly full grown yet. Gigantia started bouncing as I walked over wanting to go outside. “I’m coming i’M coming” I said sighing I took her outside and she started running I led . I started sitting in the dirt and played with a toy dinosaur. I liked calling my dinosaur armatus and putting leaf armor on it. Gigantia had wandered off like she always did (but she always returned) and I was in my world for a little while trying to figure out what to do but I was pulled from my world when I heard a bump behind me and then crying. I turned around to see sheer lying on the floor crying very bad there was one step down from the screen door and it was pretty steep and I accidentally left the screen door open I was going to go over and help her but. I could hear my moms running footsteps immediately as she scooped sheer up and cooed her she checked to see if she was hurt but luckily sheer seemed fine. “Foolscap zapper viola i’ve told you to keep the screen door closed and how could you sit there and do nothing while your sister was crying out” she scolded me. My eyes watered as I stood slowly “but I” “No buts young man straight to your room your father will talk to you before dinner” I ran past her towards my room and quickly slammed my door behind me. Flopping on my bed I looked across the room to the crib which my little sister slept in. Glaring and crying I stuffed my face in my pillow and screamed “WHY DO I HAVE TO HAVE A BABY SISTER” luckily the scream was muffled. Time passed and finally from my room. I could hear my dad arrive home with my sisters. Emily and Bella (my sisters) had been in ballet class for the afternoon. I could hear them both playing with Gigantia. Hearing a brief mumbling going on from my mom and dad. I finally heard my fathers footsteps coming to my room. Stuffing my face into my pillow again I refused to talk. “Hey sport you okay”my dad said simply opening the door and closing it gently behind him. I didn’t want to answer. “You know” my dad continued. “I think sheer was just trying to be with you today...maybe that’s why she tried to follow you outside.” “But why would she want me” I said wiping my eyes and nose on the sleeve of my shirt. “She has all of you doting on her every moment of the day...” realizing what I said I stopped talking. My dads eyes widened “so that’s it” “What’s it” “You’ve been all down lately because you feel like we aren’t paying any attention to you” my father confirmed. “Why did you have to have another baby sometimes I feel like I should just run away and no one would even care...” I mumbled “i’d Tell people I’m an orphan...” My father shook his head over and over and pulled me into his lap “Foolscap we love you like crazy but... your little sister needs special attention...” “But I want attention that’s special” I pouted eyes watering again “Let me put it another way your sister is a baby and needs special attention then what you need.” “But i’m Not getting any attention” I looked down “Sport listen being the eldest you have to take care of your younger siblings and protect them it’s your duty” my dad said acting as if he was knighting me or something “But...sheer is kinda stupid for a baby..,” I said “Well maybe you need to teach her things only big brothers can teach.” After he said that I did feel somewhat confronted...maybe Sheer did want to spend more time with me? And maybe all she wanted was my attention. I wasn’t sure but I was sure i’d Spend a little more time trying to know her better “So...we good?” Dad said smiling then ruffling my hair. “We’re good” I said with a smile “You sure I don’t think I heard you” he started tickling me and I broke out laughing “I’m sure we’re good” He picked me up and started towards the door “now lets go eat it smells like your mom just made your favorite dinner now let’s hurry before it’s all gone” I sniffed the air “mmmm spaghetti” Dinner didn’t go the way I suspected all my sisters wanted to talk about was their new pink tutus and sheer couldn’t figure out her pile of meatballs were for eating. All she kept doing was licking them and rubbing them on her face. My mom reaches over her high chair and tried to feed her one bit she refused and put her tiny hands over her mouth. Mom sighed and my dad laughed “here twiya let me try...here Sheer...eat these they’re yummy” Sheer seemed to reject my dads baby talk as much as I did and instead mimicked my dad and tried to feed her one instead. “Derek it’s no use... all I can get sheer to eat is milk... and she needs more than that...”my mother said sadly “She liked that pizza we had last week though.” Emily said smiling, her face covered in as much spaghetti sauce as sheer’s. “And she likes peas.” Bella added. “I wanna try and feed her” I suggested “Well I don’t know honey” my mom said slowly “Let him try.” My dad backed me up “there’s nothing to loose really...” with a nod from my mom, I went over and picked up a meatball with sheer’s spork. “Here ya go sis” I said smiling, holding the food to my sisters mouth. Sheer laughed hysterically, apparently she liked being called sis and grabbed my nose. “GAH” I pulled away from her and as I sat down she started eating the meatballs. “Good job sport” my dad patted me on the pack “Thanks”I said gingerly rubbing my nose In the middle of the night I was woken up by a small wimper and I looked over at sheer’s crib. She was moving around uncomfortably and kept on whimpering. Yawning I stood up taking my blankets with me and walked over to the crib. Sheer looked up at me with pleading eyes and at first I didn’t know what was wrong. Then I noticed it; she had wiggled out of her blanket and was now shivering. Carefully I pulled the quilt back over her, and she stopped whimpering and smiled. I wondered why my mom and dad hadn’t done anything but then I noticed the baby monitor was off. So I turned it on and I went back to look down at sheer. She was clearly awake unsure of what to do now that she had gotten her blanket back so she started smacking her lips. I giggled and yawned “goodnight sis...” and I started to go back to my bed. “F..Fo” I turned around was sheer trying to say something her first word in 9 months? “F...F”sheer sputtered “Come on say mom” I said urging her on. I knew mom wanted her to say momma first, so I was encouraging it. “Fo...Foocap” That didn’t even sound like mom. “Foo...cap...Foolcap”the baby shrieked with happiness saying it over and over again. My eyes widened and I smiled brightly down at sheer “yeah that’s me Foolscap and i’ll always be here little sister.” Sheer yawned and turned her head, falling asleep, contently. Unknown to me as I crawled back in bed my mom had been awake listening to the baby monitor. She smiled to herself. “Those two are going to be the best of friends someday... I just know it”